Minecraft: How to Get Prismarine Shards + Prismarine Shard Recipes

Download Article

Everything you need to know about getting Prismarine Shards

Co-authored by Pixlriffs and Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: November 28, 2025 Fact Checked

Download Article

Obtaining Prismarine Shards

|

Prismarine Shard Recipes

|

Video

Are you trying to get Prismarine Shards in Minecraft? This crafting material is used in a few recipes, most notably Sea Lanterns, and it can only be found by defeating Guardians or Elder Guardians. We'll also go over all the recipes that require Prismarine Shards and how many you'll need for each recipe.

Quick Tips for Farming Prismarine

Whenever you kill a Guardian or Elder Guardian, you are guaranteed 0 to 2 Prismarine Shards. However, you still have a chance of getting no shards—to avoid this, kill Guardians or Elder Guardians with weapons that have at least one level of Looting, as Looting will increase the maximum number of shards dropped by 1.

Section 1 of 2:

Obtaining Prismarine Shards

Download Article

Prismarine Shards drop as mob loot. Guardians and Elder Guardians can drop Prismarine Shards upon defeat.^{[1]
X
Research source} Guardians are aquatic enemy mobs that spawn around ocean monuments. Elder Guardians are a stronger variant of the Guardian, and they can also be found in ocean monuments.^{[2]
X
Expert Source

Pixlriffs
Minecraft Expert

Expert Interview}
- Guardians and Elder Guardians will always drop 0 to 2 Prismarine Shards when defeated. Each level of Looting will increase the maximum shard drop count by 1, for a maximum of 5.

Section 2 of 2:

Prismarine Shard Recipes

Download Article

With 4 Prismarine Shards and 5 Prismarine Crystals, you can make a Sea Lantern block. Place the 1 Prismarine Shard in each of the four corners of a 3x3 crafting grid, then fill in the remaining spots with Prismarine Crystals.
With 4 Prismarine Shards, you can create a Prismarine block. In a 3x3 crafting grid, place the 1 shard in the lower-left corner, then place the 3 additional shards directly above, diagonal, and to the right of the first shard to craft Prismarine.
With 8 Prismarine Shards and 1 Black Dye or 1 Ink Sac (Bedrock Edition or Minecraft Education only) you can make a Dark Prismarine block. Place the Black Dye or Ink Sac in the middle of a 3x3 crafting grid, then fill the remaining 8 spots with Prismarine Shards.
With 9 Prismarine Shards, you can create a Prismarine Brick block. Simply fill a 3x3 crafting grid with Prismarine Shards to make Prismarine Bricks.